Blair offers Sharon help in search for peace

Tony Blair held a meeting on the Middle East crisis with Ariel Sharon yesterday, who briefed him on his talks in Washington.

The Israeli Prime Minister, calling at Downing Street on his way back from discussions with the American President, George Bush, is believed to have told Mr Blair that he supports the creation of a Palestinian state but only after Palestinian attacks on Israelis have completely ended.

Mr Blair stressed that he wanted to see "an early restart to the political process" and his "determination to do all he could to help".

The hour-long meeting at Downing Street took place shortly after an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy were killed in a fresh outbreak of violence.

A Downing Street spokesman said the talks had been "useful and constructive". He added that "both Prime Ministers agreed to keep in close contact".

Mr Sharon told Mr Blair he had received firm backing from Mr Bush, who expressed his support for Israel's "right to defend herself". The Israeli leader restated his position that violence must end before peace negotiations can begin and reiterated his belief that talks would not be successful as long as Yasser Arafat remained the Palestinian leader.

A senior Israeli official said Mr Sharon had cautioned Mr Bush against trying to force a peace agreement on Israel that would lead to the collapse of the government followed by elections. This could stall diplomatic efforts for at least six months.

More than 1,394 Palestinians and 509 Israelis have been killed since the latest violence broke out in September 2000.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said that in preparation for Mr Sharon's visit Mr Blair had spoken about the conflict in the Middle East in a phone call with King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Maher, said the Israeli army surrounding Mr Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah was a challenge to US peace efforts.